Churchill Brothers: History and achievements of the club

Churchill Brothers FC is an Indian professional football club based in the Indian state of Goa. The club was established in 1988 as Varca Club. It was renamed as Churchill Brothers after the acquisition of the club by Churchill Braz Alemao who was the Chief Minister of Goa for 18 days from 27 March 1990 to 14 April 1990. Churchill Brothers was one of the founding members of the National Football League in 1996. In 2007, the club joined the inaugural I-League season. The club’s nickname is The Red Machine as it has an all red home kit. Churchill Brothers FC plays its home matches at the Fatorda Stadium. The club’s head coach is Fernando Santiago Varela. The club also has a youth academy with three age levels namely U13, U15 and U19 levels.
Churchill Brothers have won the I-League twice in 2008-09 and 2012-13. The 2008-09 season saw Churchill Brothers accumulate 46 points from 22 games to be crowned champions and in the 2012-13 season, they got 55 points from 26 games. The club has also finished in the top three on eight other occasions. Churchill Brothers won the Durand Cup thrice in 2007, 2009 and 2011 and the Federation Cup once in 2013-14. Other minor tournaments won by the club include the Goa Professional League (7 times) and IFA Shield (2 times). Churchill Brothers has also competed in the AFC Cup in 2010 where they reached the knockout stages. In the 2017-18 I-League season, the club finished 2nd bottom and were relegated from the top tier of Indian football. However, the AIFF overturned the club’s relegation after Churchill Brothers made an appeal. The club finished in 4th in the 2018-19 I-League season.